Simulator Controls

You can now bring up multiple simulation windows so you can view the virtual world from different locations while the simulation is playing. Each body editor window can be opened separately by double clicking on an organism's or structure's body plan node in the workspace tree view. You can also open stand-alone simulation windows by adding a new "Scripted Simulation Window" data tool to your simulation. The controls for moving around in the simulation are based on the standard OpenSceneGraph manipulator controls. These are enumerated in the table below.

Simulation Window Mouse/Keyboard controls

Rotate

Left mouse click and drag

Zoom

Right mouse click and drag

Pan

Right + Left mouse click and drag.

Note: Pan only works when you are not tracking a specific part/structure.

Mouse Spring

Ctrl + Shift + Right click and drag

The mouse spring should start where you first click on the body, and the amount of force applied is determined by the length of the line you
draw and the mouse spring stiffness and damping settings in the environment properties.

Editing objects within AnimatLab has changed from version 1 as well. When an object is selected it now has a drag handle shown around it that has translation axises and rotation ribbons (Figure 1). You can move the part around by left clicking on a translation axis and dragging it in that direction. Each axis is color coded: X is red, Y is green, and Z is blue. If you want to rotate a part then you need to left click on the rotation ribbon and drag it. This will rotated along that direction. These axises are colored coded the same as above. However, one thing to keep in mind is that when you rotate a part the translation axises are redrawn to show that part relative to its parent, but the rotation axises are relative to that part.

Describes how to build regular robots and Neurorobots using the AnimatLab software. Provides an easy way to build your robots without having to write a single line of code. Test your robots in a virtual environment and the try it on the real hardware.